'Terminator' Actor Earl Boen Dies at 81

Earl Boen, an instantly recognizable character actor most famous for his work in the "Terminator" films, died January 5 in Hawaii at 81.

His daughter told THR Boen had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November, and that he died "quietly in his sleep."

Boen was born August 8, 1941. He worked on the stage for 20 years before beginning to work on TV in the '70s. Once he took the plunge, he became one of the busiest character actors in Hollywood, amassing nearly 300 credits, nearly half of them voice roles.

Early on, he guested on such shows as "The Streets of San Francisco" (1977), "Hawaii Five-O" (1977), "Wonder Woman" (1977), "Police Woman" (1978), "Eight Is Enough" (1978), "The Jeffersons" (1979), "Soap" (1981), "The Golden Girls" (1990 & 1992), and "Family Matters" (1991).

Boen becomes another in a recent spate of "Seinfeld" guest stars to pass away; he appeared on "The Pony Remark" (1991), a classic Season 2 episode of the show.

He made his movie debut in 1977's "Mr. Billion" with Jackie Gleason and appeared in such films as "The Main Event" (1979) with Barbra Streisand, the comedy classic "9 to 5" (1980), "Airplane II: The Sequel" (1982), the Steve Martin comedy "The Man with Two Brains" (1983), "To Be or Not to Be" (1983) for Mel Brooks, the highly regarded James Caan alien-invasion flick "Alien Nation" (1988), and "Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult" (1994).

He had recurring gigs on the series "It's a Living" (1981-1982), "Who's the Boss?" (1984-1986), and "The Law and Harry McGraw" (1987-1988), and was familiar to TV viewers as Reverend Meechum on "Mama's Family" (1983-1987).

But it was his casting as Dr. Silberman in "The Terminator" (1984) that brought him to his widest audience. He returned in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991) and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003).

Boen's inimitable voice kept him busy after his retirement in 2003 from live-action work. He provided several voices on "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (2000-2002), its associated videos, and the 2004 feature film based on the show. From 2007-2016, he narrated a half dozen "World of Warcraft" games ahead of his final work in any medium, providing a voice in "Girls Mode 4: Star Stylist" in 2017.

Boen was preceded in death by his first wife, actress Carole Kean, in 2001. He is survived by his second wife, Cathy, his daughter, and two grandchildren.